Green Olive & Lemon Tapenade Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This is simply a twist on the sun dried tomato tapenade stuffed chicken breast recipe I gave earlier. 

I made a green olive and lemon tapenade, based on Delia Smith’s tapenade recipe from the Summer Collection and used that to stuff the chicken breasts.

For two people I used: 

2 chicken breasts

4 slices parma ham

2dsp green olive and lemon tapenade

2 or 3 basil leaves

Freshly milled black pepper to taste 

For the tapenade : 

14oz (400g) green olives, drained and rinsed

3oz (75g) capers, drained and rinsed

2oz (50g) anchovy fillets

2 big cloves of garlic

1tsp Dijon mustard

2tb extra virgin olive oil

Zest of a lemon and the juice of half a lemon

2tb fresh basil

Freshly milled black pepper 

To make the tapenade you simply place all the above ingredients into a food processor and pulse so that you get a coarse mixture.   

(The quantities given above will give you far more than you need for this recipe, but it is such a versatile paste that it never goes to waste.  Stir some into cooked linquine, tagliatelle or spaghetti; spread some on toasted rustic bread, smear some onto a crust as you pass the fridge etc etc!  In theory, this should keep in a jar in the fridge for up to two weeks, but I find it gets used up well before that!) 

To stuff the chicken, simply butterfly the chicken breasts, season with pepper and spread each with a dessertspoon of tapenade.  Add 1 or 2 torn basil leaves and fold over the top flap of the breasts.  Wrap in the parma ham and place in a baking dish.  Drizzle them with a little olive oil and give another seasoning of ground black pepper. 

Bake in a hot oven (190^oC / 375^oF / Gas Mark 5) for 30 minutes or so, until the chicken is cooked through. 

You can serve this with pasta, buttery boiled new potatoes or over rice.  A crisp salad alongside is always nice too.  Ditto some crusty bread and a bowl of olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping!